London: Currently, there are smartphones in the hands of 4.6 billion people in the world. According to a fresh report from the GSM Association (GSMA), even today, half of the world’s population is deprived of smartphones, with the highest rate of people lacking smartphones in the South Asian region.
According to the report, there were 4 billion people using smartphones to access the internet, while the rest of the 6 billion individuals were using feature phones (simple button phones) to access the internet.
The report reveals that by 2022, the world’s population had reached 8 billion, of which 4.6 billion had various types of mobile phones, but only 4 billion individuals had smartphones. This means that, so far, half of the world’s population is deprived of smartphones.
Surprisingly, in 2022, there was a decrease in the number of new smartphone users compared to the past, with only 200 million new users added. Prior to this, in 2020 and 2021, there was an annual increase of 300 million smartphone users worldwide.
According to the agency, interestingly, smartphone users saw a significant increase from 2015 onwards compared to the past, which was very inexpensive in the past. Even in remote regions in the era of the internet and smartphones, there are still many areas where 3G and 4G internet services are not available. In North American regions, most people are still using 2G internet.
The figures indicate that 85% of people in developed countries use smartphones, while in high-income countries, this number is up to 60%. Regarding regions with deprived access to smartphones, it is noteworthy that 59% of the population of the poorest African countries still do not have smartphones, while in South Asian countries, this number is 52%.
Countries like Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal have yet to reach smartphones for half of their population, and a significant portion of the population is still compelled to use feature phones.
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